Peoples of the Old Testament World

by Alfred J. Hoerth (Editor)

Detailed historical and archaeological essays give insight into the many people groups who interacted with and influenced ancient Israel.

Genres: History, Old Testament

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1994

About the author

Alfred Hoerth was director of Archaeology at Wheaton College in Chicago, Illinois. He also authored, coauthored, or coedited various resources, including Archaeology and the Old Testament, Bible Archeology, and Peoples of the Old Testament.

Reviews

[Monty Milne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book full of fascinating information (to me, at any rate). In the preface it claims to be the standard reference on the subject, supplanting D J Wiseman's "Peoples of Old Testament Times", published in 1973. The problem is that the volume was published in 1995 and there have been archaeological developments since then, just as there were since 1973. Also, the fact that the chapters are more or less of equal length sometimes feels a bit odd - for example, that the Egyptians are dealt with at the same length as the Moabites. The whole of ancient Egypt in one short chapter calls for a great deal of concision, whereas our knowledge about the whole of ancient Moab in a chapter of the same length can safely be padded out a bit. The asymmetry sometimes feels a bit peculiar.

Of course, the peoples described here are seen in relation to the Israelites. This is inevitable, given the unparalleled richness of detail in the Old Testament. But this is nevertheless a chance to see things from the other side of the hill, and try to imagine what life was like for those who sometimes had a radically different or hostile viewpoint to the Israelites. As a lifelong contrarian, I've had a fascination since childhood for the peoples described here. I am fairly sure I was the only child in my Sunday School class whose sympathies were with Goliath rather than David...

[Rodney Harvill · Rating 4 out of 5]

While much of the Old Testament deals with Israel, its patriarch, Abraham, was from Mesopotamia, and the Israelites spent several formative centuries in Egypt. Furthermore, just as no man is an island, neither is a nation. Israel interacted with its immediate neighbors as well as with nations far afield, each one of which had varying levels of influence on the history of Israel. In this book, a chapter is dedicated to each of the following peoples:

• Sumerians
• Babylonians
• Assyrians
• Persians
• Hittites
• Canaanites and Amorites
• Phoenicians
• Arameans
• Philistines
• Egyptians
• Ammonites
• Moabites
• Edomites

One of the peoples, the Sumerians, is not discussed in the Old Testament but is included because its culture so influenced subsequent Mesopotamian cultures that did interact with the Israelites.

Each chapter, written by an expert on the featured people group, is essentially a survey of that people’s geography, history and culture, including religion and literature. In addition, each chapter includes a Recommended Reading section. As these chapters are surveys, they will not make the reader an expert. Rather, they provide a high-level overview, and the recommended reading lists provide suggestions for those who want to dig deeper.

[Tammy Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a great deal about the many diffrent nations that ancient Israel interacted with and this gave me a better understanding of the Old Testament.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seems to be geared more towards scholars than the lay person. I was disappointed in the lack of maps (only one is included) and the illustrations (black and white and rather small).